Reid St. standoff ends; two men fled before police arrived after man with handgun tried to remove occupants from an SUV

Sarah Deeth/Examiner
Two people, one armed with a gun, ran into this house on Reid St. on Thursday night after allegedly trying to get four people out of a silver SUV that was parked outside the house at gunpoint. City police descended on the neighbourhood, prompting street closures and a standoff for more than four hours, but all six had left the scene before officers arrived.

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City police are looking for two men who are on the lam after one of the men brandished a handgun in an attempt to remove occupants from a vehicle parked on Reid St. on Thursday night.

Police believe the two men fled on foot just prior to the arrival of officers for what turned out to be a four-hour standoff at a house at 251 Reid St.

The police investigation began when a 911 call was received shortly after 6:30 p.m. about the two men, one with a handgun, attempting to remove the occupants of a silver SUV that was parked in front of 251 Reid St., Insp. Larry Charmley of city police investigative services said.

The occupants were able to flee from the two men in their SUV south down Reid St., police said.

Officers arrived shortly after and received initial information that the two men were still inside the house, Charmley said.

Area streets were then closed off to motorists and pedestrians and heavily armed officers with the emergency response team, along with a police dog, were called in, police said.

In the hours that followed, four occupants were removed from the home, police said, with the house safely cleared shortly after 11 p.m.

But the two wanted men were not inside, Charmley said, leaving investigators to believe they had fled on foot just prior to the arrival of police.

The streets and sidewalks were reopened to the public shortly before midnight.

Police are remaining at the scene until a search warrant can be executed to search the house, Charmley said.

Meanwhile, the occupants of the silver SUV had yet to contact city police as of early Friday morning, police said.

“We want to thank the citizens who were inconvenienced during this incident, due to road closures or the need to stay confined in their residences until this matter was safely resolved,” Charmley stated.

Police are asking anyone with information about the handgun incident to call city police at 705-876-1122, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, the city police crime line at 705-876-1122 ext. 555, or by email to crimeline@peterborough.ca.